Other forms: gratings
Grating means harsh and irritating to listen to. A grating voice, grating laugh, grating on the ear.
The image is of two rough surfaces rubbing, which is what the verb grate means. It extends beyond sound to manner — a grating cheerfulness. A grating is also a noun, meaning a metal grid over a drain or window.
1adjectivegratingHarsh and irritating to listen to.
“Her grating laugh could be heard across the whole restaurant.”
2nounmetalA metal grid over an opening.
“She dropped her keys, and they fell through the grating into the drain.”
grating is a quality of sound.
Latin
cratis
Medieval Latin
crāta
Middle English
grate
English
grate
English, today
grating
From grate + -ing. grate comes from Middle English grate, from a Medieval Latin crāta, from a Latin word for a hurdle; or Italian grata, from Latin cratis.
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA